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2020 PGA Championship (Dane)
The '''2020 PGA Championship '''was the 102nd PGA Championship. It was held at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, California from May 14th to 17th, 2020.It was the first time the course hosted a major. Rory McIlroy began his career renaissance here at Harding Park, holding the lead for much of the weekend and making a late charge on Sunday to clinch the title at 8 under, and by two strokes over Hideki Matsuyama. The win was McIlroy's first major title since the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island back in 2014. Being the world #2 at the time of his win, he also regained the ranking of world #1 for the first time since the rankings of September 13th, 2015 nearly five years prior. Summary First Round Englishman and world number 24 Matt Wallace took an early lead, scoring a five under 67 with several birdies on the back nine of the course. This gives him a two stroke advantage over Rickie Fowler and world #2 Rory McIlroy, who shot three under 69. Only ten rounds in total finished under par, which included two time defending champion Brooks Koepka's one under 71, putting him in a tie for seventh place. Second Round Scoring was horrible on a windy day in San Francisco. The result was just five players in total under par entering the weekend. This group was led by Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele, who each sat at two under par. They were one stroke clear of two time defending champion Brooks Koepka, first round leader Matt Wallace, and Spaniard Jon Rahm. No rounds below 70 were shot for the entire day, but two rounds of two under 70 did occur, from Tommy Fleetwood and Aaron Wise. Third Round World number two Rory McIlroy jumped out to a three stroke lead, shooting a three under 69 to reach 5 under par. Three strokes back sat Xander Schauffele and Japanese golfer Hideki Matsuyama. The third round also had the lowest round of the tournament, a six under 66 from world #31 Kevin Na, which put him to even and in a tie for 8th. Amongst other notables, young Chilean Joaquin Niemann and South African Justin Harding each made moves into the top 10. Final Round Rory McIlroy wins by two despite losing the lead at several points through the round. An Eagle at 12 for Matt Kuchar and an opening hole bogey for Rory McIlroy made the lead just one stroke early on. Koepka eventually went eagle-par-birdie from 7 to 9 to steal the lead. But he eventually slipped from first place as well, thanks to a surge from Xander Schauffele, who reached -8 with an eagle-eagle-birdie-eagle stretch and a two stroke lead. But his lead would not last either, as two bogeys in three holes dropped him behind Rory McIlroy, who led to the end, winning by two. The low round of the day was by Brooks Koepka, who shot five under 67 to finish in a tie for 3rd at -5. The biggest mover was Matt Kuchar, who shot four under 68 to finish tied for 9th. Scoring Summary Rory McIlroy won off a three under 69 featuring five birdies and two bogeys. Xander Schauffele became the first person in major championship history to have three eagles in a single round. Aftermath The win at the 2020 PGA Championship was Rory McIlroy's fifth major victory. With the win, he moved from 2nd to 1st in the world, becoming world #1 for the first time in nearly five years.